Turbo coupling



oct. 11,1938. P KUGEL 2,133,029

TURBO COUPLING Filed Feb. 1a, 1957 z'sheets-sheet 1 y Kuggz oct. 11,193s. E. KU'GEL 2,133,029

TURBO COUPLING Filed Feb. 18, 1937 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'wfg @331m .'faMm..v

Patented Oct. 11, 1938 UNI-TED STATES PJrENr OFFICE TURBO COUPLIN G IFritz Kugel, Heidenheim-on-the-Brenz, Germany, assignor to AmericanVoith Contact Company Inc., New York, N. Y.Y

Application February 18, 1937, Serial No.'126,514

In Germany February 20, 1936 1o .om (ci. eso-54) This invention relatesto fluid power transmitfters, and in particular, to arrangements forflll- 4ing and emptying such transmitters with respect to the workingiuid.

One object of this invention is to provide a i iluid power transmittercircuit having a working chamber and a fluid storage chamber, withoppositely facing stationary' scoop tubes, one of which is adapted toempty the iiuid storage chamber and the other to fill it, these scooptubes power transmitter and the fluid source for selectively connectingone of the scoop tubes with the fluid source while disconnecting theother scoop tube therefrom, this valve being arranged in an intermediateposition to cut off communication with both of the scoop tubes so as tomaintain the lling of the transmitter in a iixed g5 condition.

Another object is to provide a, uid power transmitter circuit, asdescribed above, wherein the scoop tubes consist of a single U-shapedtube having an aperture at the lowest portion of the tube, arranged tobe immersedin a fluid in the storage chamber, and connected to serveeither as a fluid intake or fluid delivery port, depending uponwhich-arm of the U-shaped tube is connected with the uid source.

Another object is to provide a iluid power transmitter circuit, asdescribed above, wherein a by-pass line with a one-way valve permitscirculation of the Working-uuid through the transmitter, yet preventsthe return of the iiuid into the transmitter when the fluid contents ofthe transmitter are drained into the uid source by suitably shifting thecontrol'valve. y

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through one embodiment of the fluidpower transmitter circuit of this invention.

Figure 2 is a left-hand front elevation, partly in section, of the iluidpower transmitter circuitshowninliigure1..V

Figure 3 is a front elevation of a modification of the fluid powertransmitter circuit shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is another modiiied uid power transmitter circuit for use witha uid power trans- 55 mitter, such asis shown in Figure 1, but employinga displacement body for control purposes. Figure 5 is anothermodication, similar to Figure 4, but employing a movable inlet tube forvarying the level at which the tube will draw in iiuid from the iluidsource.l 5

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the lower portion of the U-shaped scooptube in Figure 3.

In general, the fluid power transmitter circuit of this inventionconsists of a uid power transmitter with a rotatable casing havingintercom- 1o municating iiuid storage and working chambers with drivingand driven rotors in the working chamber, and a stationary casing havingiluid intake and outlet compartments with oppositely facing scoop tubesin the storage chamber and 16 connected to the compartments forwithdrawal of fluid from the intake compartment and for delivery ofiiuid to the outlet compartment.

Another feature of the invention consists in a. single control valveadapted in opposite positions l0 to shut off communication between theiluid reservoir or fluid source and one of the scoop tubes, whileopening communication between this reservoir or tank and the other scooptube. Preferably, the control valveis also arranged to provide 25 .anintermediate position in which both scoop tubes are shut oi! fromcommunication with the fluid reservoir so as to maintain the iilling ofthe transmitter in a xed condition while the valve isin thisintermediate position. 30

Still another feature of the invention resides in the provision of aby-pass line extending between one of the scoop tube lines and theworking chamber so as to permit the circulation of fluid between thevarious chambers of thetransmit- 35 ter, yet having a spring-loadedvalve to prevent the uid from returning tothe transmitter when thecontrol valve is shifted to cause the outlet scoop tube to be connectedto the rervoir to drain the uid from the storage 'chamber into 40 thereservoir.

A modification of the invention consists of providing a single U-shapedscoop tube mterconnecting the intake and outlet compartments of .thestationary casing, and having a port at the 45 lowest portion of thetube, this port serving as a fluid delivery port while the uid intakeline is connected tothe reservoir, andas a fluid withdrawal port whilethe fluid outlet. line is connected to the reservoir. 50

Hitherto, suitable pumps have been employed to deliver the working fluidfrom the reservoir to the fluid power transmitter. The fluid whichescaped by leakage from the transmitter during operation was replenishedby the pump, so that the lling of the transmitter remained completewhile the pump was in operation. When it was desired to empty thetransmitter the pump was halted so that no more fluid was delivered tothe transmitter, and the uid within the transmitter was returned to thereservoir through a stationary scoop tube, or other suitable means. Thisarrangement, however, had the disadvantage that the lling pump absorbeda considerable amount of power, and resulted in an increased cost ofinstallation or operation, or both. In such an arrangement, moreover,the lling pump was required to be of large capacity in order to ll thetransmitter quickly when lling became necessary.

In order to maintain the transmitter in a lled condition, moreover, anadditional leakage pump which absorbed less power was usually employed.Even when the filling pump was dispensed with by. employing anoverheadtank and gravity delivery of Huid, it was usually necessary toprovidea leakage pump in order te deliverv the leakage iluid from thelowest point of the iuid circuit to the overhead tank.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figure 1 shows a fluid powertransmitter having an impeller c mounted on a driving shaft C1 and arunner d mounted on a driven shaft d1. A casing consisting of shells c2,c3 and cs is connected to the impelier c so as to rotate therewith. Theshells cz and cs provide an oilchamber ce, into which the oppositelyfacing stationary scooptubes a and b project in such a manner that theirmouths are immersed in the fluid within the peripheral portion of vtheoil chamber c4. The scoop tube a and scoop tube b are connected,respectively, to chambers q and r formed in a stationary casing p bymeans of the partitions p1, pz and p3.

The scoop tube a has its offset scoop portion immersed in the fluid =inthe oil chamber c4 for the purpose of directing the uid from the chamberc4 to the chamber q, and thence through the conduit a1, valve e andconduit 61 to the tank f. The scoop tube b, on the other'hand, has itsoiset scoop portion immersed in the oil chamber c4 in the oppositedirection to the offset scoop portion of the scoop tube a for thepurpose of creating a suction so as to drawiluidthrough the conduit el,the valve e and the conduit b1, into the chamber r, and thence throughthe scoop tube b, into the oil chamberor storage ohamber c4.

'I'he valve e is arranged in an intermediate position to cut of!communication between both of the conduits a1 and b1 and the conduit en,and is held in this intermediate position by springs e3 and e4. When thevalve e is in this intermediate position itmaintains the lling-of thefluid power transmitter in a constant condition. When the hand lever e2,which controls the valve e, is moved to the left, the scoop tube b is.connected to the oil tank f, whereby oil drawn into the oil storagechamber c4. OnV the other hand, when the hand lever e2 is moved towardthe right, the scoop tube a is connected to the oil tank f through thevalve e, and the conduits e1 and a1, so that the oil is withdrawn fromthe storage chamber ci inte the oil tank f.

A ller cap c5 isA provided lin the top of the casing shell cs for theintroduction ef a sufficient quantity of oil into the storage chamberc4, in yorder to initiate the suction effect of the scoop tube b. Itwill be seen from Figure 1 that when the casing cs c2 ce rotates withthe driving shaft c1, the oil therein forms an oil ring in theperipheral portion thereof under the inuence of centriiugal force.

Extending between the remaining chamber s in the stationary casing p andthe conduit a1 is a by-pas's conduit g with a spring-loaded valve g1.This arrangement serves during operation to circulate that part of theworking fluid which passes from the'chamber s of the stationary casingp, through the holes n, into the working chamber t lying between theshells c2 and cs. From the working chamber t the uid passes throughholesl m, into the storage chamber c4, whence it is recirculated by thescoop tube a, the conduit `ai and the by-pass line g by way of thespring-loaded valve g1'. When the fluid is drained from the transmitterby connecting the scoop tube a with the tank f, the springloaded valveg1 prevents the fluid from returning into the transmitter.z

'Ihe modiiicaticm shown in Figure 3 is similar to the iluid powertransmitter shown in Figures l l and 2, except that a single U-shapedscoop tube h is provided in place of the two .separate scoop tubes m andb. 'Ihis U-shaped scoop tube h at its lowest point has a portv h1,through which the fluid passes into or out of the storage chamber c4,depending upon which arm of the U-shaped scoop tube h is connected withthe conduit e1 and tank f by means of the control valve e. When theleft-hand arm of the U- shaped scoop tube h is so connected, fluid isdrawn from the tank, through the valve e and conduit b1, into thechamber r and thence passes downwardly through the port h1, into thestorage chamber e4. On the other hand, ii the right-hand arm of theU-shaped scoop tube h is connected with the conduit e1 by means or thecontrol valve e, the iluid in the storage chamber c4 iswithdrawn'therefrom through the port hi, into the chamber q, whence itpasses through the conduit a1, thercontrol valvee and the conduit e1,into the tank f.

The modification shown in Figure 4 includes a fluid power transmittersimilar to that previously described, but having a displacement body isuspended from a cable wound upon the drum k. By raising and loweringthe body i the level :ry of the fluid in the tank f can be varied sothat the mouth of the filling conduit b1 will be exposed when the uidlevel drops in response lto the lifting of the displacement body i outof the tank f. When the iuid power transmitter is to be completely orpartially filled, however, the dispiacement body i is lowered into thetank f, causing the uid level :ry to rise to or above the mouth of theconduit b1. In modification the conduit a1 extends nearly to the bottomof the tank f, and contains a throttle valve I arranged to prevent toomuch iluld from returning to the tanlf during normal operation. y

The modication shown in Figure 5 serves a similar purp-ose to thecircuit shown 'in Figure 4, but provides an adjustably movable conduitb, in place of the displacement body i. By raising or lowering theadjustable conduit bi by means of the rod ba, the level at which themouth of the conduit b2 ceases to draw in uid from the tank f can besuitably varied. The movable conduit b,

terconnecting the chambers with the conduit b1.- 'I'he operation of thissecond by-pass conduit and valve is similar to that of the rst by-passconduit g and valve g1, previously described. 'Ihe operation of thevarious forms of the invention has been sumciently described inconnection with the construction thereof, and requires no additionalexplanation.

It will be understood that Idesire to compre-- driven rotor in saidworking chamber, a stationary casing having a centrally disposedhub-.like portion with iluid intake and outlet compartments therein,stationary scoop tube means having oppositely facing mouths in saidstorage chamber, said scoop tube means extending inwardly to saidhub-like portion and connected respectively for withdrawal of uid fromsaid intake compartment and for delivery of iluid to saidl outletcompartment, a iiuid source, means for connecting said fluid source withsaid intake and outlet compartments respectively, and a valve'in saidconnecting means for selectively placing said iluid source incommunication with one of said compartments, said storage compartmentbeing adapted to contain a liquid the level gif which is above the levelof said mouths at. all

2. In a uid power transmitter, a rotatable casing havingintercommunicating fluid storage and working chambers, a drivingrotor'and a driven rotor in said working chamber, a stationary casinghaving iuid intake and outlet compartments, stationary scoop tube meanshaving oppositely yfacing mouths in said storage chamber connectedrespectively for withdrawal of fluid from said intake compartment andfor delivery of iluid to said outlet compartment,- a iluid source, meansfor connecting said uid source with said intake and outletcompartmentsrespectively, and a valve in said connecting means forselectively placing said uid source in communication with one of saidcompartments while cutting off communication with the other of saidcompartments.

3. In a iluid power transmitter, a rotatable casing havingintercommunicating uid storage and working chambers, a ldriving rotoranda driven rotor in said working chamber, a stationary casing having uidintake and outlet compartments. stationary scoop tube means havingoppositely facing mouths in said storage chamber connected respectivelyfor withdrawal of uid from said intake compartment and for delivery ofuid to said outlet compartment, a iluid source, means for connectingsaid uid source with said intake and outlet compartments respectively,and a valve in said connecting means for selectively placing said fluidsource in communication with one of said compartments while cutting oi'icommunication with the other of said compartments, said valve beingadapted in a neutral position 'to cut of! communication between saidsource andboth of said compartments, whereby to maintain the iilling ofsaid fluid power transmitter in a constant condition.

'4-. In auid power transmitter, a rotatable casing havingintercommunicating uid storage and working chambers, a.` driving rotorand a driven rotor in said working chamber, a stationary casing havingav centrally disposed hub-like portion with fluid' intake and outletcompartments therein, and stationary intake and outlet scoop tubesextending inwardly to said hub-like portion and connected respectivelytov said intake and outlet compartments and having oppositely directedscoop portions adapted respectively for conduction of iluid from saidintake compartment to said storage chamber and for delivery of iiuidfromsaid storage -chamber to said outlet compartment, the oppositelydirected portion of said outlet scoop tube having an opening whichopening is below the level ofthe liquid at all times in said storagechamber.

- 5. In a uid power transmitter, a rotatable casing havingintercommunicating iluid storage and working chambers, a driving rotorand a driven rotor in said working chamber, a stationary casing havinguidintake and outlet compartments, and a 4U -shaped stationary scooptube interconnecting4 said intake and outlet compartments and having anintermediate port immersed inthe iiuid in said storage chamber.

6. In a fluid power transmitter, a rotatable casing havingintercommunicating iluid storage and working chambers, a driving rotorand a driven rotor in said working chamber, a stationary casing havingiiuid intake. and outlet compartments, stationary scoop tube meanshaving oppositely facing mouths in said storage chamber connectedrespectively for withdrawal of uid from said intake compartment and fordelivery of iluid to said outlet compartment, a uid source, intake andoutlet conduits for connecting said iluid source with said intake andoutlet compartments respectively, a by-pass conduit connected to provideintercommunication between said working chamber and said outlet conduit,and means for regulating ithe passage oi iluid through said by-passconduit.

,f 7. In a uid power transmitter, a rotatable casing havingintercommunicating uid storage and working chambers, la driving rotorand a driven rotor in said working chamber, a stationary casing havingfluid intake and outlet compartments, stationary scoop tube means havingoppositely facing mouths in said storage chamber connected respectivelyfor withdrawal of iluid from said intake compartment and for delivery offluid to s aid outlet compartment, a fluid source, intake and outletconduits for connecting 8. In a uid powertransmitter, a rotatable4casing having intercommunicating fluid storage and working chambers, adriving rotor and a driven rotor in said working chamber, astationarycasing having uid intake and outlet compartments, stationary scoop tubemeans having oppositely facing mouths in said storage chamber connectedrespectively for withdrawal of uid' from said intake compartment and fordelivery of iluid to said outlet compartment, a fluid source, means forconnecting said fluid source with said intake and outlet compartmentsrespectively, a valve in said connecting means for selectively placingsaid fluid source in communication with one of said compartments whilecutting off communication with the other of said compartments, saidvalve being adapted in a neutral position to out of communicationbetween said source and both of said compartments, whereby tomaintainthe filling of said fluid power transmitter in aA constant condition,and means tending normally to urge said valve into said neutralposition.

9. In a fluid power transmitter, a rotatable casing havingintercommunicating fluid storage and working chambers, a driving rotorand a driven rotor in said working chamber, a. stationary casing havingfluid intake and outlet compartments, stationary scoop tube means havingoppositely facing mouths in said storage chamber connected respectivelyfor withdrawal of uid from said intake compartment and for delivery ofuid to said outlet compartment, a uid source, intake and outlet conduitsfor connecting said uid source with said intake and outlet compartmentsrespectively, a by-pass conduit connected to provide intercommunicationbe' tween said working chamber and each of said intake and outletconduits, and a yieldingly urged valve for regulating the passage of uidthrough each by-pass conduit. t.

10. In a uid power transmitter, a rotatable casing havingintercommunicating uid storage and sworking chambers; a driving rotorand a driven rotor in said working chamber, a stationary casing havinguid intake and outlet com-` FRITZ KUGEL.

